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Updated: Dec 31, 2020 96 Comments · by

Coffee Break: Linen Utility Jacket

Coffee Break

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Oooh: if you're looking for a lightweight topper for breezy days or chilly nights, this linen-blend utility jacket at Old Navy looks like it would be great on top of jeans, shorts, a t-shirt dress, or even something fancier(ish) like a jumpsuit or romper. It's a bestseller right now, available in regular (up to XXL), tall, and petite sizes for $49.99. I like the black best, but it's also available in white, a light blue chambray, caramel, and “tierra red.” Lovely. Loft has a few similar options in twill, including in plus sizes; Kohl's also has some similar options in twill up to XXL. Tech Troubleshooting: If you've been having problems with commenting, please try to comment on this post with answers to these questions so we can figure out the problem. a) What browser are you using? b) Do you think the problem started happening around 1–2 weeks ago (new caching thingy) or 3–4 weeks ago (reporting button)? I'll ask my tech guy to look into it but can't recreate the problem myself.  This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

Sales of note for 9.30.24

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Comments

  1. Anon

    Any Rheumatoid Arthritis sufferers here. I’m recently diagnosed and while it explains a lot of strange things that have been happening to me and I’m glad to finally know what it is, my head is spinning a little about a lifetime of immunosuppressants and all of the other potential joys of my new, permanent condition.

  2. Anonymous

    Can anyone help– for the last 3 or so years every time the weather gets hot (say 90+ degrees with a heat index nearing 100 for a sustained period of time in Va.), I get these little flying insects in my apartment. IDK what they are. Super small so you only see them when they buzz by your face or say in front of a laptop you happen to be looking at. But it’s nearly impossible to catch because it’ll fly erratically, not in straight lines and you can’t seem to catch it like sitting on a wall like a fly would. Almost like a mosquito except it doesn’t bite. What is this and how to get rid of it??

    My first year here I suspected it was something coming from the kitchen drain – IDK why it’s just that I’d see it after the water had been running for a long time like doing dishes. IDK if I think that anymore as anytime I see it now it’s near me near the couch – though I live in a 1 bed/1 bathroom apt so kitchen to couch isn’t far.

    Recently I had put out a small amount of vinegar (the industrial stuff you get at home depot) to see if it’ll be attracted to/drown in that, nope. Had put in those plug in lights that supposedly attract bugs – put them in last Sept or so and thought I saw a difference but they’re still plugged in now and I’m having the issue. Now I wonder if this type of insect is just too small/doesn’t fly straight enough to fly towards the light and/or maybe I felt like they worked last year bc I put them in, the weather likely got cooler within a few weeks and they just went away. Each year this problem starts around June/July and then I don’t notice it again after Sept/Oct. so somehow I think it’s heat related.

    And more on point for this board – what do I do about my anxiety about this? I have gotten WAY better over the years but if I see one of these my day is ruined. Even more of an issue now because it’s not like I’m out of the house for 8-10 hours/day anymore. It makes meal prep a nightmare bc you don’t feel like you can leave food open for a second. In my mind – this thing has sat on my plunger or toilet or 2 seconds ago and OMG what if it’s since touched my laptop, phone; how can I use my kitchen towels etc. It’s 1 bed/1bath, it’s not like things are far apart. I put things away as much as I can but of course certain books, laptop, phone, towels etc. need to be out to use, nor do I have THAT much storage. (Though admittedly I’m NOT as bothered as I was the prior 2 summers because what can I do.)

    So any insect, cleaning or anxiety tips? Any thing I should buy? Anything I should put down the drain? All I can think to clean is the couch — wipe down the insides for crumbs etc. and check the groceries to make sure there’s nothing attracting bugs like produce – I wouldn’t think so though.

    • mascot

      Fruit flies? You can treat with fruit fly traps (easy to DIY as well) plus cleaning your drains with baking soda/vinegar, letting it sit for a bit, and then flushing with hot water. Store produce in the fridge and that should help.
      Could also be gnats, but those generally stay outside. If it continues, a pest control company can come and evaluate. Both of these bugs are annoying, but you aren’t going to get sick if they touch something that you then touch.

    • anonshmanon

      I don’t know what little flies you have exactly, but if you want to try the homemade trap again, here is what works for me: shallow dish (such as a lid from a yogurt tub that I’d throw out anyway), and mix three ingredients: the base is something sweet and fruity, like a bit of apple juice, or the last swig of yesterday’s IPA. Sweet smell is the main attraction for little flies. Then you add a touch of vinegar, for an alluring hint of rotten food (you know how they say: you don’t catch flies with industrial strength vinegar!). And then you add a few drops of liquid soap, so they will drown in the liquid if they try to land.
      On another note, unless you used your plunger in the last few days, I don’t see how it should have any significant amount of pathogens. Study after study shows that bathrooms are less germy than other places in the house.

      • Ellen

        I think that you should check to make sure that when you clean that you get the scrub brush under the rim of your toilet bowl using ammonia, b/c that area usually is where it starts to get funky, and the odor attracts all kind of things, especially if the apartement gets to warm. My cleaning lady taught me this ammonia trick b/c my ex was particularly sloppy in the toilet and she noticed that she had to disinfect there with ammonia when the smell did not go away after she Lysol’ed the bowl itself. I know this can be unappetizing, but if you want to get rid of the smell, that is what you HAVE to do. If you wear gloves, you will not get your hands full of ammonia.

    • Anonia

      Wash any fruit you would normally leave out as soon as you get it home. Someone told me that if you rinse bananas right away, you rinse off the fruit fly eggs. At the very least it makes me feel like there are less fruit flies around on the few occasions I actually remember to do it.

    • NOLA

      I have been killing bowls full of fruit flies in the past couple of weeks with this: mix about a tbsp of sugar into some white vinegar, Add a squirt of dish soap and slowly mix in water. Leave that out and there will be a bowlful of dead fruit flies. I also had small flies around my bathroom sink drain and they must have laid eggs in the drain that wasn’t draining properly. Whenever it didn’t drain, little worms would come up out of the drain (yeah, gross, I know). Even pouring straight bleach in there didn’t kill them. Finally had to have a plumber come and clean out the drain (had to cut through the wall, big drama) and haven’t seen flies or worms since then. Good luck!

    • Anon

      Fruit flies? Those are generally slow enough that I can smash them if I clap my hands around them. The best fruit fly trap I’ve used is a little bit of wine in a glass with saran wrap over the top with holes poked in it with a pen or pencil.

      • Carmen Sandiego

        +1 to this (except with foil). Leave a little wine in the bottom of a glass, cover with foil and poke a few holes in the foil with a toothpick. Leave overnight, and the next day they’re all dead.

      • Anonymous

        This. Your bowl of vinegar was a good start, but it is the trapping them inside part that gets them dead.

    • AnonATL

      If you have any indoor plants, they can bring in little buggies with them too. There are these traps on Amazon that do a good job of getting the bugs in a concentrated area. Just search indoor plant insect traps.
      Otherwise it’s probably fruit flies hitching a ride in with your produce.

    • tova

      got any houseplants? They can have bugs that spawn from the dirt surface if it’s too wet.

    • HFB

      Do you have houseplants? Could be fungus gnats. Treatment is the same as for fruit flies and others have given you good suggestions for that- the dish soap added to the vinegar is really important (just a few drops) otherwise they can land on the vinegar without sinking. Also drain flies are a thing; regularly pouring a bunch of boiling water down your drain should help. As for the anxiety around this issue, sorry I don’t have any advice.

    • Anonymous

      OP re anxiety — as a germophobe I get it. BUT rest assured knowing that every house in America has this type of problem and moreso homes in hotter climates and homes with woods etc. in the backyard. It’s no better or worse in a mansion versus a 1 bedroom, an insect can fly into bathrooms there too and then touch towels or kitchen towels or whatever elsewhere in the house. Heck when I go to my parents house in the summer, often I see these gnat like things — there’s tend to hover over light fixtures — and half the time my parents are like what, there’s nothing there, I don’t see it (they have the habit of leaving doors to the backyard for 3-4 min as they slowly put on their shoes and exit being like oh no, I am moving so quick nothing will come in — and this isn’t an age thing, they did this at 30 as well). So rest assured generations of people (including you for at least 3 summers) have lived healthily EVEN IF an insect has touched gross things and then touched their phone or laptop.

    • Anon

      Fruit flies. I made homemade traps by putting some overripe cut up fruit and juice in a jar or tupperware, covering tightly with plastic wrap, and slicing a few small holes in the wrap. They get in and can’t get out easily. Dispose of the flies + fruit in an outdoor bin, or throw away the whole thing if you used a disposable plastic container. If you have an infestation you should keep doing this for a week after you see the last fly because their eggs can hatch. They are very common. Avoid leaving any rotting fruit in an uncovered garbage pail. I never had them in the drain but a thorough cleaning and maybe clorox should help.

    • Trudy

      I do not at all mean to diminish your stress here, because I relate to it hard, but this is anxiety talking. You got some good practical advice about dealing with the bugs themselves, but I want to emphasize that your worry and focus on this to this degree might be speaking to something else too. For me, it’s ants – I get them most years, but the first time I did, all my other, unrelated, difficult-to-resolve life stress got channeled into ant stress, because it felt like a problem I SHOULD be able to manage. I. was. obsessed. I tried all sorts of traps and sprays, and it didn’t help that my problem was tough to solve, but I found myself coming home from work and just … looking for ants for like half an hour every night. Not great, and not really the ants for me. I talked about it in therapy, recognized what was happening, and now when I inevitably get ants every year, my reaction to it is kind of an informal barometer of other life stuff, too. Just a thought. Hang in there – you’ll solve this, it’s no grosser than the bugs in everyone else’s house (EVERYONE has them. Seriously everyone), and this too shall pass.

  3. Decent meatloaf recipe

    I thought this was foolproof, but I’ve failed twice. Third time is the charm? It can’t be too “strong,” whatever that means.

    • Anon

      What was wrong with the first two recipes? What does “too strong” mean? Too much spice?

      • Anonymous

        I think maybe the presence of chopped-up peppers? I used to grab any recipe off of the internets and now just want to go with what kind internet strangers deem to be fool-proof and a general crowd-pleaser. I swear I used to have a good recipe but cannot find it.

        • gov anon

          If it’s the presence of the peppers that are making it too strong, I’d suggest something more like by Grandmother made. Ground beef, a chopped up onion, an egg, and enough cracker/bread crumbs and ketchup to hold the whole mess together. Bake for about an hour. It’s kind of bland, but that may be what you’re looking for.

    • Anon

      I truly have no clue what a strong meatloaf could be. Does that mean like too firm? Too many flavours? I think you gotta ask for some clearer feed back than that. But now I think I’m gonna start calling my backyard squirrel strong meatloaf, seems like a perfect nickname for him :)

    • anon

      Alton Brown’s meatloaf recipe is really good! Even my notoriously picky FIL loves it.

    • Anon

      I think you have to go old school with these things and not go too fancy. It’s comfort food.

      My mom’s was from Betty Crocker most likely, and it was ground beef, dried oats, an egg, and ketchup. Some salt and pepper but not a lot. Maybe 1/2 a diced onion, maybe not.

      Cooked to hell in the oven and don’t you dare drain that grease.

        • Anon

          Ah there you go. My mom was definitely a peel-a-label-off-a-container recipe keeper.

          Her goulash (American goulash) was also sublime. My siblings and I have tried to recreate it but we never quite get there. My sister thinks it’s because we are trying to make it too healthy, like draining the groups beef and using lean ground beef to start with.

          My mom didn’t actually like to cook. She was just feeding her family in the most economical way possible. But the decidedly non-fancy stuff I ate at mom’s kitchen table will always be the epitome of comfort food for me.

    • Anon

      Beef, 1 egg per pound of beef, bread crumbs, garlic powder, ketchup to taste and until it binds nicely. Line a pan with foil, spread barbecue sauce or tomato sauce on the foil, shape loaf and add more barbecue sauce or tomato sauce on top. Use a sauce you like obviously. I am of the school of never adding vegetables to meatloaf. Anyway, i prefer my vegetables on the side.

    • Housecounsel

      My husband would say to get the Lawry’s brand spice packet at the grocery store and use the recipe on the back. Douse with Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce. If you’re feeling a bit fancier, try the Bon Appetit bacon-topped meatloaf recipe.

    • NY CPA

      I made my first meatloaf a week ago. I used Barefoot Contessa’s version. It was delicious! Only changes I made were a bit less onion because I only had 2 onions on hand (and the 2 was plenty), and used a blend of beef and veal, since I had some ground veal I wanted to use up.

    • Anon

      I use Mark Bittman’s recipe, tweaked to my preferences.
      I do 2/3 beef, 1/3 pork, an egg, breadcrumbs, milk, minced garlic, onions, either carrot or applesauce (something a little bit sweet), and some minced parsley. Sometimes I top it with ketchup, sometimes not.
      Oven at 350, bake till done. I like to do small single-serve meatloaves rather than one big one, but it comes out the same either way.

    • Anon

      Once you find your perfect not too spicy meatloaf, you can have meatloaf sandwiches. I feel strongly that these should be on white bread, cold, with a smear of mayo on one bread slice and ketchup on the other.

      • Anon

        YES. BUT. Have you ever made a grilled cheese and put pickles and a slice of meatloaf on there?

  4. LittleBigLaw

    What are your best in-the-moment tips for dealing with anxiety? I’ve always been somewhat of an outgoing introvert, and I’ve really leaned into being secluded at home these last few months. Now, our firm is asking us to come back, and I was not at all prepared for how much being in my all-glass office would trigger the anxiety I’ve been feeling in the background during all of this. I think being away from my cozy at-home work space and out in the open all day just dials the vulnerability I’ve been feeling because of the virus and economy way, way up. At any rate, I’ve only been in the office for about a week now but can barely make it half a day before I feel like I’m going to scream and have to leave. Luckily, I’ve got a lot of flexibility re face time and how much time I’m actually in the office right now, but this is obviously a problem that I need to deal with. Hoping for any tips on how to ease back into life in a fishbowl and calming anxiety attacks when they pop up.

    • Sloan Sabbith

      Focusing on my breathing, and, for me, reminding myself that I can actually breathe even though my body is telling me that I can’t get enough air. That spikes my anxiety a lot because of my lung condition, so I’ve really had to learn how to focus on breathing during an anxiety attack. I like GIFs like this: https://imgur.com/gallery/x8sHknP I find that inhale-hold-exhale-hold is better than just deep inhale-deep exhale.

      Also, taking a walk- even if it’s just around the block. Fresh air plus a break from the stimuli that’s making me anxious.

      To drown out the background noise that tends to spike my anxiety, noise cancelling headphones and soft music- I like the “Happy Folk” playlist on Spotify, or “Acoustic Favorites.”

      Get out of the office for lunch. It can act as a reset for me.

      And, if you’re having a really hard time- there’s no harm in talking to a doctor about some anxiety meds or antidepressants that help with anxiety to help balance it out. Anxiety is normal, but high levels of anxiety are exhausting.

      • NY CPA

        +1
        I used to get really severe panic attacks daily. Only thing that pulls me out of that panic spiral is deep, concentrated breathing. I did 5 second inhale, pause, 5 second exhale. Repeat until calmed.

    • Carmen Sandiego

      I’m sorry you’re dealing with this! I had some anxiety coming back to the office too, due to all the unknowns! Here are some things that have helped me:

      1) Doing meditation every night (I do mine right before bed with the Calm app – I also have Headspace but like Calm better). I think that making it a consistent practice helps me to maintain a calmer level of nerves throughout the day. It also trains me to be mindful of how I’m feeling. So I would suggest adding it in as a part of your everyday routine because I think you’ll see more benefits that way.

      2) When I find myself being anxious in the moment, I use some physical techniques to help calm myself. Your body does pick up on little physical stress signals, but there are some things you can do to reverse that – and they shouldn’t be obvious to people who can see you in the fishbowl. Such as: deep breathing (look up diaphragmatic breathing/breathing “into your stomach”), check to see if your shoulders are tensed up around your ears and if so lower them, flatten your hands palm down onto your desk while taking some deep breaths, also place both of your feet flat on the ground. These things should help your body to relax and send a signal to your brain that everything is “ok”.

      • eertmeert

        Also the 5 senses technique: 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 thing you can smell and finally 1 thing you can taste.

  5. Vicky Austin

    Tech problems thread!

    Chrome desktop isn’t saving my name/email even when checking the box; this definitely started within the last two weeks for me.

    • Cat

      A bunch of us flagged this in the morning thread. Kate replied that they are investigating.

    • Anon

      Same thing happens to me. I’m also always in mod which is super annoying. I didn’t use to be, before the report comment change.

      • anon

        same here. I’m a regular poster under different names. I wonder if someone accidentally reported me and I’m in some kind of purgatory?

        Interestingly, my comments seem to post in the PM thread but not as easily (if at all) in the AM thread. Is that just me?

    • Sloan Sabbith

      Yes, this is still a problem for me too. I only use Chrome. Sometimes it saves it in the same thread, but not when I refresh, sometimes not at all.

    • Sloan Sabbith

      Same issue. Sometimes it saves my name/email in the same thread, but not all the time, and never when I refresh or go out of Chrome on my phone and then back in.

    • Anon

      Happening for me on Chrome on multiple computers. Started 1-2 weeks ago, not earlier than that.

    • Abby

      Same as Vicky, Chrome desktop, name and email won’t save despite checking box.

    • Kat G

      I have turned of the reporting plugin — can you guys tell me if the problem is solved? My tech guy thinks the caching thing is unlikely to be the culprit but let’s see…

      • Cat

        That actually fixed it for me. I just commented ‘test’ on the hair and skin post from earlier today, went to another site, came back to this post, and it was prepopulated like normal. Chrome desktop.

        • Cat

          err.. spoke too fast. I just refreshed this post to see new comments, and my name, email, and checkbox were then cleared again.

      • Ses

        Still doing it for me. Chrome Version 83.0.4103.97 (Official Build) (64-bit), on iOS

        • Ses

          Actually… I may have forgotten to check the box on that last try. It is now saving my info after I close the site and come back to it.

  6. Of-the-moment shoes with skinny jeans for casual office

    For back-in-the-office fashion:

    What shoes to wear this year with skinny jeans? One pair is slightly cropped, which I think is more current.

    Office is casual, but I’ve just spent 3 months in crocs. Last year, Rothy’s for commute, MGemi Fortunas for office. No desire to wear heels + jeans these days. Not sure block heels are right (the Jcrew knockoff of the Everlane ones).

    I don’t have any casual sneakers, just giant Hoka trail runners, so that’s not an option. Not into Allbirds or spending $$$ on something like Golden Goose’s (but could get maybe some Converse All-Stars or Tretorns or something if it had a wider toe box).

  7. Anonymous

    I am a senior associate at a firm and I’m just learning how dysfunctional the partners really are behind closed doors – in the last month, there have been 2 votes to expel or kick partners out for petty disagreements, there is mass dissension whether the managing partners can require everyone to wear masks or ban visitors from our office, and apparently there is regular yelling/screaming on a floor I don’t usually work on. Are all firms like this???

    • Carmen Sandiego

      In January, I would have told you yes, because I was in one, and it was so horrible it made me want to stop practicing law. When I told my recruiter to find me something law-adjacent because I just couldn’t do this anymore, he prodded me for more information. When I told him some of the stuff going on, he insisted not all firms were like that, so I skeptically took some interviews with other firms. I ended up at one of them, and now my answer is no – it doesn’t seem like they’re all like that; there’s hope out there!

      • Anon

        I sincerely hope you’re at a better firm now, but the flip side of this point is that often takes a while for a lot of this stuff to become apparent. Screaming would normally be immediately obvious, but the petty drama definitely takes a while for newcomers to fully understand.

    • Anonymous

      I think many many many small firms are like this. I have personally worked in 3 firms like this, and I’ve been practicing for under 6 years! My #1 goal after firm #3was to get to the biggest firm possible, with as many partners and a dedicated HR department. I succeeded and can confidently say this is the solution. Our managing partner is still toxic and dysfunctional, but his power is so diluted by the other partners and HR, etc, that it doesn’t matter. Hope to stay at firm #4 until retirement.

  8. Jewelry storage for earrings / necklaces?

    I have a lot of stud earrings. And necklaces. Not much else. I don’t want a dresser-type stand for them but something to put them inside a drawer. What should I be looking for?

      • Anon

        Look for ones designed for mini-fridges–they have smaller cubes if you want to keep things more separated without taking up as much space.

    • Anonymous

      Either a jewelry box or drawer dividers/inserts for existing drawers if that’s your plan … have you tried bed bath &beyond or the container store?

    • Aunt Jamesina

      Search for drawer jewelry trays on Amazon. I have one (it’s discontinued, otherwise I’d link it), and it’s a nice, easy way to store them if you have the better part of a dresser drawer available.

    • Anon

      for necklaces I have acrylic hooks hanging on the wall behind my closet door — Container Store has nice ones. for earrings and rings i have little plastic boxes that are divided — clear so I can hold them up to the light and see what’s inside.

    • Anon

      Look at Reed and Barton jewelry boxes. They make lots of them that have a slim design and are mostly little earring cubbies.

      But I like a beautiful old-school luxurious looking jewelry box and not acrylic type organizer things, so YMMV. I want my dresser to look like a woman’s boudoir on a 1940s film set. Yes, I do have a mirrored tray of perfume bottles.

  9. Anon

    What is everyone’s favorite vodka right now? Is Three Olives better than Kettel One or Titos?

    • Anon

      I like All Purpose Vodka by St. George but I don’t know if it’s available everywhere. Tito’s is our second house choice.

      I read somewhere (maybe here!) that the difference between mid level vodka and high level vodka is filtration, so if you have patience, you can filter something like Smirnoff (Or cheaper) through a brita several times and get a much better vodka on the cheap.

      • Anon

        Omg there is some dutch chocolate vodka – possibly grey goose – and it is AMAZING. It smells and tastes like chocolate. I know I’m coming to the party late but had to mention it!

      • Anonymous

        I also don’t like Titos. I prefer Stoli. It’s worth getting some small/airline bottles and doing a side by side comparison.

    • Shanananana

      Depending on where you live, I am a big fan of finding the best local vodka. Non Local – for the price, Wodka is my go to for cheap but good. I run a restaurant and Tito’s is our most often named request, probably followed by grey goose. I rarely but occasionally hear Ketel, never three olives by name. That is a lot of places better than smirnoff well offering in my experience.

    • Anonymous

      It all tastes the same to me but my Russian in-laws who are vodka snobs prefer Kettel One

    • Anon

      Costco’s Kirkland brand, which is Grey Goose seconds at a fraction of the price.

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